please don't be a silent reader, please vote and comment!

I then suddenly get interrupted with a blaring alarm frantically buzzing, the doors shoot open and the music begins to play as the guards walk in, players begin to murmur out of fear.

Me and Su-bong make our way down from the bunk beds and sit near two boys, whom were fangirling over Su-bong, their numbers read 124 and 256.

"Congratulations for making it through the first game. Here are the results of the first game." The guard in the middle declares.

We then look up at the screen that reads in green bold letters "NUMBER OF PLAYERS: 456" trill and decrease to 365.

"Out of 456 players, 91 players have been eliminated. 365 players have completed the first game. Congratulations again for making it through the first game."

He is then suddenly interrupted by an old lady, whose number reads 149, dragging a boy with the number 007, whom I'm presuming is her son.

"Sir! Please don't kill us! Please don't kill us. I beg you!" She pleads, while getting on her knees and bowing down to the guards. I actually somewhat feel a sense of remorse for her and her son, I heard from 124 and Su-bong that she's here to pay off her son's debts, which is actually quite cute. If only I had that.

"As for my son's debt, I will do whatever it takes to pay you back! Please forgive us!" She then grabs her son erratically, shaking him, uttering, "Don't just stand there. Beg for his forgiveness.".

He then proceeds to get down with his mother, "I'm sorry. Please forgive me. I promise I'll pay it back.", he wails.

The mask manager suddenly speaks, "There seems to be a misunderstanding."

"Please don't kill us!" A random woman yells.

Then, a series of people begin to plead and beg for their lives, Su-bong then stares at me and snickers.

"Don't laugh, that's mean." I nudge his arm.

"Since when did you care about people dying?" To which 124 snickers. I death stare him and he immediately clears his throat and stops while tucking back his hair behind his ears.

"We are not trying to harm you. We are presenting you with an opportunity."

"Clause three of the consent form." Gihun yells, all eyes immediately dart to him, including mine, he briefly locks eyes with me for a bit and lets out a slight platonic smile, I plaster an artificial smile, slightly to familiar to Dae's.

"The games may be terminated upon a majority vote." He quotes.

"Correct?"

"That is correct."

"Then let us take a vote right now."

"Of course. We respect your right to freedom of choice." He replies in clear annoyance.

Players sigh in the relief at the opportunity to leave, but realistically, greed will always win.

"But first, let me announce the prize amount that's been accumulated." This is where you'll lose them, Gihun.

He pulls out his remote and beeps it, the ceiling then suddenly begins to rumble and the golden piggybank turns the room a tint of yellow. Digital trilling begins to play as the piggybank slowly gets lowered down and money begins to fill it to the brim, players begin to all look up in astonishment as the music begins to intensify. Contrastingly, me and Gihun are the only ones who aren't fazed; for different reasons.

"The number of players eliminated in the first game is 91. Therefore, a total of 9.1 billion won has been accumulated. If you quit the games now, the 365 of you can equally divide the 9.1 billion won and leave with your share."

"How much is that?" Player 100 inquires. I roll my eyes realising he's that annoying grandpa, why didn't he die in the first game?

"Each person's share would be 24,931,500 won."

"Fuck. We almost died and they're giving us 24 million? That's fucking bullshit." Player 124 states to our group.

"I agree." I utter with a resigning tone.

"Twenty million? You said 45.6 billion!" Su-bong replies.

"The rule is that a hundred million won will be accumulated for each eliminated player. If you choose to play the next game and more players get eliminated, the prize amount will increase accordingly."

"How much will it be if you survive until the end?" The grandpa asks once again. If I had debt like his, I would try to survive until the end to honestly. What choice do you even have in that situation?

"As I already told you, the total amount of prize money for all 456 players is 45.6 billion won. Those who make it through all 6 games will equally divide the 45.6 billion won."

"So, if you're the only one to survive, you get 45.6 billion won?" Acting like you'll even make it to the next game.

"That's correct." Players then begin to murmur out of surprise and bewilderment.

"So we can take a vote again and decide to leave after the next game?"

"As promised in the consent form, you can take a vote after each game and decide to leave with the prize money accumulated to that point. We always prioritise your voluntary participation." He pauses.

"Now, let's begin the vote."

—————————————

We're all lined up in neat rows, in front of us is a massive blue circle and a massive red cross, indicating whether or not we want to play.

"If you wish to continue the games, press the O button. If you wish to end them, press the X button. The vote will be held in the reverse order of your player numbers."

"Player 456." He then begins to walk through the crowd and walk down the aisle to the voting buttons, he then pauses when a sudden voice arises.

"It's all pointless! You didn't decide when to come into this world, and you can't decide when you leave it either. When and where you die were already decided but the Gods the moment you were born. No matter how hard you try, you can never escape it." Player 044 states, hovering above from the beds, I'm assuming for a sense of self-worth, she definitely has a superiority complex. People like that always think they're better. I squint my eyes for a closer look of her, it's that weird fortune telling lady, of course it is.

He then continues to confidently stride down the aisle and immediately presses the X button, to which it makes a loud beeping noise.

"Once you finished voting, put the patch you are given on the right side of your chest and stand on the side you have chosen."

"You're picking blue, right?" Su-bong nudges my arm.

"Yeah, are you?"

"I am." Player 124 replies, to which we both look at him and nod, to which 256 tells us he's voting for blue as-well. 256 seems to barely talk while 124 and Su-bong do all the talking.

"Player 454." She then picks blue.

"Player 453."

"Player 390."

"Player 388." I look as a handsome man hesitantly walks down the aisle and his hand hovers over the buttons but he then presses blue. Unbeknown to me, as he walks over to his side of the room he doesn't take his eyes off me.

"Player 333."

"Player 332."

"Player 256." He presses blue and shoots us all an awkward smile.

"Player 230." Su-bong looks at me and grins, then jumps up and sprints throughout the aisle, proudly pressing blue, he then admires the screen with the voting on it. The vote reads "87 : 93".

"Wait a minute, everyone!" Gihun yells.

"You can't do this. Come to your senses! Don't you see? These aren't just any games. We will all die if we keep playing! We have to get out of here now. With a majority vote, we can! We must stop here!"

"Who do you think you are? Why do you keep on egging people on like that? You scared us by saying they'd shoot us before the game even began!"

"That's right! He was going on about how we'd die and I almost did because I got so nervous!"

"How did you know they were going to shoot us? Are you one of them?"

"Are you conning us all by pretending to be a player? Who is this guy? Did you plant him to mess with our heads?" The grandpa inquires to the guards.

"That's uncalled for. We wouldn't have won the game and survived if it weren't for him! And you! I saw how scared you were. Your legs were shaking. You should thank him, not treat like him a fraud!" Player 390 steps up and defends.

"And who the hell are you? Are you conspiring with him?" I mean, he has a point. Who is this guy? He seems to know Gihun on a personal level.

"Rude. How old are you?"

"Older than you. What are you doing to do? What?"

The old lady then unexpectedly intervenes, "Come on now. Please don't do this. Listen. None of us would be alive if it weren't for this gentleman. So enough with the greed. Let's put our lives first and get out of this place! Okay?".

"That's right!"

"Let's all get out of here."

Then, there's a debate and series of shouts between continuing to play and wanting to get out.

"I have played these games before! I have done this before!" Gihun silences the room. Dramatic much?

"I knew all about the first game because I had played it before! I played the games here 3 years ago! And everyone who was with me, died here!"

"Hold on, if they all died, how did you survive alone? Wait, are you saying you were the sole winner?"

"That's right. I was the final winner." Players then begin to whisper.

"If we continue the games, every single person here, just like all the people back then, will die in the end."

"Bullshit. If you were the sole winner, it means you won 45.6 billion won. If you really did, why did you come back here?"

"That's right! He's lying! Cut the crap!"

Su-bong then walks down the aisle over to Gihun. "If you really won, it actually works better for us. You can give us some tips on how to beat these games." He crosses his arms smugly and smiles. I sink my hands into my head out of shame. He's being quite oblivious right now, it makes me want to die.

"That's right! We have a previous winner with us, so what do we have to worry about? Come on, let's do this." People then begin to cheer obnoxiously loudly.

Although I'm here to ruin Gihuns plans and help continue the games, I can't help but find these players stupidity quite amusing. This will take a lot of willpower and discipline.

"Please, I'm begging you, we have to get out now. If we keep playing, more people will die." He walks over to the remainder of us who haven't voted.

"That could be you." He holds some random man at the front.

"We have to stop this now and get out of here." He releases the man, now talking to all of us.

Then, a masked guard walks over to him and points a gun to Gihun's back. "From here on, we will not tolerate actions that disrupt the voting process. Now, let's resume the vote."

"Player 228."

"Player 222."

"Player 124."

"Player 111." I slowly walk down the aisle, feeling everyone's fixated stares on me, it begins to make me stumble as I attempt to walk and my heart begins to thump and ache inside my chest. I then hesitantly press the blue button and walk over to the blue side, Su-bong then wraps his arms around me cheerfully; to which I refuse to reciprocate.

Unbeknown to me, player 388 has been watching me since the moment I stepped onto that aisle with his smile progressively widening; although it immediately fades the moment Su-bong wraps his arms around me but flickers when he sees I refuse to cooperate.

"I knew you'd pick the blue side!"

"What, you doubted me?"

"No, not really. You don't seem to be scared of anything, except people. I noticed how anxious you were when you were walking down to vote."

"I wasn't scared. Just stage fright. That's all."

"Is that not the same thing?"

"Player 100."

After a while, the vote reads 180 : 181.

"Player 007." He then helps even the vote, making it 181 : 181.

"Player 006." Everyone begins to lock their gazes onto the last remaining players, she then walks down the aisle swiftly and presses the red button, causing me and Su-bong to both tut in sync as the red team begin to whoop.

"Player 004." He nervously walks down the aisle, hesitating between the buttons and presses the blue button, evening the vote once again, making Su-bong attempt to high-five me. I then reject it so he decides to hug me once again; which I don't reciprocate. I think the drugs are wearing off.

"Why aren't you hugging me?" Su-bong pulls me away from the crowd.

"Have I ever been a hugger?"

"Lastly, Player 001."

"Well, you were when we were together." He whispers over the cheer of "O" vs "X".

"Yeah, when we were together 14 years ago."

"Yeah, you have a point, I know. I just miss you, I miss us, you know?"

FLASHBACK:

Me and Su-bong were going through what people would call a rough patch of a relationship. Miscommunication, tension, conflict, non-stop arguing and all of the other classic mishaps in a relationship.

We didn't hang out at school anymore and I would blank him in lessons I sat next to him, but one random lunch time, I was sitting down on a bench just reading but he then approached me and sat down next to me.

"You aren't talking to me, Susu." He breaks the silence, putting his arm onto the bench in hopes I would lean on him; which I don't.

"Maybe because we're on a break, Su-bong." I feel his intense stare on me but choose to continue to read my book and even flick a page while at it.

Suddenly, I feel him take my book to which I attempt to reach it with my arm, he only finds this amusing. He then looks at me and I turn to reciprocate his gaze, he then slowly begins to lean in.

"Before you kiss me, you better save my book page or I'll kill you." I demand, to which he lets out a faint smile and a chuckle and saves my page by folding it and then carefully places it into my bag.

"I miss you, I miss us."

"I miss us too." I beam at him, he then cups my face, then before I know it, our faces are mere centimetres away from each other and I can feel his unsteady breath on my neck as we both gaze at each other. A million thoughts are running through my mind right now.

He then abruptly and softly kisses me. His lips are warm and soft, having that sense of comfort I've been craving. I could feel the butterflies rising in my stomach as the mood of the kiss quickly changed from gentle and cosy to rough and passionate.

"I get why you ran off. But you need to deal with the consequences, I won't warm up to you immediately and you flirted with another girl right in-front of my face."

"You said it's fine because we aren't together! And you winked at that winner guy and thought I wouldn't notice!" My eyes widen, is he jealous? He cares?

I then hear the buzzer and the lights shine blue, people begin to cheer and 001 hesitates to turn around.

He then turns around, revealing a familiar face. In-ho? What is he doing here? Me and Su-bong collectively gasp in sync as 001 glances straight in my direction with a stern look on his face.